Re: The Left is Just Bubbling With Ideas . . . . They're Just Wrong Ones

When someone asks the wrong question, they will get the wrong answer. That is the problem with many here. They could educate themselves about MMT and then the questions rasised here would be relevant to the actual process. Until then, talk among yourselves and prove that the doddering gang is going to the grave not understanding modern economics that make other countries tick like a fine clock - while some here seem to miss how that clock works.

Re: The Left is Just Bubbling With Ideas . . . . They're Just Wrong Ones

The question that is not being asked / answered is who is screaming to not fix healthcare for the people living in the US: Chamber of Commerce - check, All for-profit Health Insurance companies - check. Private hospitals - check.

AIPAC lobbying against BDS is following the same model - chasing and spending money to protect themselves against the majority of people in the USA.

Re: The Left is Just Bubbling With Ideas . . . . They're Just Wrong Ones

@GailL1 I couldn't agree more with your "IMO". We, in my opinion, are just fighting within the agendas to stop what we now see happening. Unfortunately, we all tend to fight to no end to get the opposing to come to our side mentality, no? This constant fight will eventually destroy what is known as a democracy of the republic, no? Well, anyway....get ready for the Democrats to start hauling out all the trash talk about the opponents running for the ticket, no? Oh well, here we go again. Another close to 2 years of upcoming trashing of society.

. . . . consider the race by prominent Democrats to embrace Medicare-for-all. A variety of expert studies have estimated the total increased government spending for such a program at between $2.5 trillion and $3 trillion a year. Few of the many proposals being floated would likely raise anything close to that revenue. The Medicare-for-all plan by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has zero out-of-pocket costs for patients, which would make it even more generous than plans in Europe and Canada. And if a herculean effort were made to raise revenue for Medicare-for-all, there would be few easy avenues left to fund any of the other ambitious proposals on the new Democratic wish list.

. . . . . consider the tax proposals being tossed around on the left, including a wealth tax championed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). I understand the appeal of tapping into those vast accumulations of billionaire loot. But there is a reason nine of the 12 European countries that instituted similar taxes have repealed them in the last 25 years. They massively distort economic activity, often incentivizing people to hide assets, devalue them and create dummy corporations. . .

There are smarter, better ways to address inequality — raise the capital gains tax to the same level as income taxes; increase the estate tax; and get rid of the massive loopholes that make the U.S. tax code one of the most complex and corrupt in the world. But again, this is less stirring stuff than burning the billionaires.

* Cooper asked about factual errors she’s made in policy discussions, such as her misinterpretation last month of a statistic about Pentagon spending, which earned her four Pinocchios from The Washington Post’s fact-checker. PolitiFact has documented several other mistakes she’s made, such as claiming that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement faces a legal requirement to fill 34,000 beds every night. In reality, the law has no such mandate; past versions required the agency to have that many beds available, but not filled.

The representative responded with an exasperated “Oh my goodness” and suggested that those focusing on her errors need to readjust their priorities. It sounded like she was asking to be taken seriously but not literally, as some observers have suggested about the factually challenged president. “If people want to really blow up one figure here or one word there, I would argue that they’re missing the forest for the trees,” she said. “I think that there’s a lot of people more concerned about being precisely, factually, and semantically correct than about being morally right.”

Back to theFareed Zakaria column (This statement above) reminded me of a July 2016 exchange between former House speaker Newt Gingrich and CNN’s Alisyn Camerota. Camerota explained that, contrary to Gingrich’s insistence, FBI data showed that violent crime in the United States was way down. Gingrich responded that it doesn’t “feel” that way to people. “As a political candidate, I’ll go with how people feel, and I’ll let you go with the theoreticians,” he said.

Re: The Left is Just Bubbling With Ideas . . . . They're Just Wrong Ones

You have to wonder where the left gets these crazy ideas. My guess is that they see how well they are working IN EVERY OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRY and it puts thoughts in their heads.

After all, they could continue to use the American method which has not been successful in any country in the world, including America. I mean, who would not want THAT kind of failure as a model, right?

The only ones who want the method that the current political right favors are those (the right) who are selfish, greedy, bigoted, prejudiced, and willing to sacrifice the lives of others for their own immoral and unworthy happiness and pleasure at seeing "others" they feel are less worthy (not white, native born, and the "correct kind of christian") - suffering because they did not have the "fortuitous accident of birth" of the right wing bigots and racists - much of whose moral and ethical deficiencies can be traced to a cacestogenous upbringing...

Re: The Left is Just Bubbling With Ideas . . . . They're Just Wrong Ones

You have to wonder where the left gets these crazy ideas. My guess is that they see how well they are working IN EVERY OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRY and it puts thoughts in their heads.

After all, they could continue to use the American method which has not been successful in any country in the world, including America. I mean, who would not want THAT kind of failure as a model, right?

Re: The Left is Just Bubbling With Ideas . . . . They're Just Wrong Ones

or that healthcare costs in our country continue to spiral out of control which in many cases still leads to bankruptcy. How about the OPTION of IF you want Medicare you can have it, if you want to stay on your private insurance, you can do that. I personally like that option.

Re: The Left is Just Bubbling With Ideas . . . . They're Just Wrong Ones

I too appreciate Scout's painfully honest posts , but we have a few plutocratic posters , who put money over morality and almost anything is acceptable in the White House as long as their Taxes remain historically low.

I see AARP as a strong voice to help those Senior's , who worked their whole life , but need a strong advocate to help them survive with dignity and fight for their cherished Social Security , Medicare and Medicaid.